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Answer:
Your answer would be A). Had no legal rights
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Explanation:
The reason why the answer choice "A). Had no legal rights" would be the correct answer is because the free African Americans that were in the United States were not considered as citizens of the United States.
When it's talking about free African Americans, it's talking about the African Americans that are in a state that doesn't have slavery or is in a state that is not in the south, most likely the northern states. The 1700s was a time where there was still slavery and people being sold in auctions.The reason why they didn't have legal rights is because as a whole law in the country, African Americans weren't allowed to get citizenship, even if they're not part of slavery. It was not until 1866, the Civil Rights Act, which allowed the African Americans that were in the United States a full United States citizenship. This also includes the 14th amendment which also gave the African Americans a full citizenship in the United States.
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Why the other answer choices are incorrect:
The reason why answer choice "B. Had some legal rights" is incorrect because:
They didn't have some legal rights, they realistically had no rights as all in the United States, in which this would make the statement incorrect. This is the reason why this answer choice would be incorrect.
The reason why answer choice "C. Were treated the same as whites" is incorrect because:
The African-Americans in the United States were not treated the same as the whites, they were treated very differently. This involves things like racism, segregation, etc. This is the reason why this answer choice would be incorrect.
The reason why answer choice "D. Were treated the same as slaves" is incorrect because:
They weren't treated the same as slaves. The reason why they weren't treated the same as slaves is because they were in a free state, in which allowed them to not be owned by someone, and slaves didn't get a chance of that freedom. This is the reason why this answer choice would be incorrect.
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